US: Wegmans prepares to open first of 13 new stores
Wegmans continues to eye growth as it pushes further towards overstepping the 100 mark for its storecount, with number 89 due to open Monday, May 22nd. The expanding retailer announced its intention for 13 new stores and remodels. Now more details for dates have emerged for seven of those stores, four of which will open this year, starting next week. (andnowuknow.com)
Walmart moving faster on price investments
Walmart Stores said Thursday that it had begun making price investments at stores sooner than it had expected to — an indication that the retailer is satisfied with progress at improving its stores. Company officials in October said they would hold off on price investments until they believed store conditions could sustain the sales boost lower prices could bring. (supermarketnews.com)
UK convenience stores popular for grocery shopping
New research from industry research firm Mintel reveals that 45% of UK shoppers say they regularly visit convenience stores to do a top-up shop with 7% visiting the stores for their main weekly or monthly shop. The growth in the convenience sector has been driven by a shift in grocery habits from consumers who are looking to cut down on the time spent grocery shopping. (esmmagazine.com)
Countdown anticipates a boost in online grocery shopping following the national roll-out of its Click & Collect service today. From 23 May, New Zealanders from Cape Reinga to the Bluff can buy groceries online with Countdown, have them picked and packed by a personal shopper, and then collect their shopping in-store at a time that suits them for just $5. More than 80,000 Kiwis, approximately the entire population of Palmerston North, are regular online shoppers with Countdown. (scoop.co.nz)
Wegmans continues to eye growth as it pushes further towards overstepping the 100 mark for its storecount, with number 89 due to open Monday, May 22nd. The expanding retailer announced its intention for 13 new stores and remodels. Now more details for dates have emerged for seven of those stores, four of which will open this year, starting next week. (andnowuknow.com)Walmart moving faster on price investments
Walmart Stores said Thursday that it had begun making price investments at stores sooner than it had expected to — an indication that the retailer is satisfied with progress at improving its stores. Company officials in October said they would hold off on price investments until they believed store conditions could sustain the sales boost lower prices could bring. (supermarketnews.com)UK convenience stores popular for grocery shopping
New research from industry research firm Mintel reveals that 45% of UK shoppers say they regularly visit convenience stores to do a top-up shop with 7% visiting the stores for their main weekly or monthly shop. The growth in the convenience sector has been driven by a shift in grocery habits from consumers who are looking to cut down on the time spent grocery shopping. (esmmagazine.com)NZ: Countdown's Click & Collect rolls out nationally
Countdown anticipates a boost in online grocery shopping following the national roll-out of its Click & Collect service today. From 23 May, New Zealanders from Cape Reinga to the Bluff can buy groceries online with Countdown, have them picked and packed by a personal shopper, and then collect their shopping in-store at a time that suits them for just $5. More than 80,000 Kiwis, approximately the entire population of Palmerston North, are regular online shoppers with Countdown. (scoop.co.nz)NZ: Online shopping nears for Foodstuffs customers
Foodstuffs, the owner of the New World, Four Square and Pak 'n Save brands, plans to begin rolling out a national grocery delivery and pick-up service from October, first in the North Island and then in the South. The service will start with New World and later Four Square, depending on the location. But Pak 'n Save, a brand aimed at lowering prices, would only offer click and collect. (stuff.co.nz)Greece: Metro invests 100 mln Euro in Veropoulos
Expanding supermarket chain Metro, which owns MyMarket and recently bought out the Greek network of Veropoulos, intends to invest a total of €100m in the modernization of Veropoulos supermarkets up to 2018, according to the company’s managing director, Aristotelis Panteliadis. (ekathimerini.com)Nielsen: Grocery price increases grind to a halt across Europe
In the first quarter of the year, the price paid for everyday grocery items rose by its slowest pace across Europe in six years, according to retail performance data from Nielsen. According to the data, in Q1, FMCG value sales rose by just 0.7%, the smallest increase since Q1 2010 (0.5%), whilst volumes rose 0.8% year-on-year. As a result of this slowdown, grocery retailers saw a 1.5% increase in takings at the till – the lowest figure for nearly three years (1.2% in Q2 2013). Of the main European markets, Spain posted the highest level of growth (+3.1%), followed by France (+2.2%). Overall, across the 21 European countries measured, Turkey had the highest growth in takings at the tills (+9.7%), followed by Poland (+4.8%) and Hungary (+4.6%). Germany saw a decline (-0.4%), as did Greece (-6.1%) and Finland (-2.8%). (esmmagazine.com) Portugal: Sonae MC to focus on promotions to boost market share
Portuguese retail group Sonae MC will continue to focus its strategy on promotions to boost its leadership position in the country’s competitive food retail market. In an interview with Reuters, Sonae COO, Luís Reis, said that the strategy has resulted in a 0.3 percentage point increase of market share during the first quarter of 2016, to 27%. (esmmagazine.com)
How retailers are targeting proximity growth in Latin AmericaPlease, click here to read the article.
US: Meijer opens two new supercenters
Meijer said Thursday it opened supercenters in Evansville, Ind., and Owensboro, Ky., as part of its nine-store growth plan for the year. The stores are part of a planned investment of more than $400m in new and remodeled stores, the company said. (supermarketnews.com)Ireland: Applegreen notes ‘positive start to year’, particularly in food
Forecourt retailer Applegreen has issued a statement ahead of its AGM, which took place last week (20 May) in Dublin, in which it said that ‘2016 has started well both in terms of trading and the development of the business’. In Ireland, where it has added 17 sites to its estate since the end of last year, it has seen ‘trading volumes up in all categories of the business, particularly food’. The retailer also highlighted the addition of Freshii, a Canadian concept that ‘provides fresh and nutritious meal choices that appeals to people on the go’, with the first Applegreen Freshii concept opening in June. (esmmagazine.com)Croatian supermarkets report increased sales in 2015
The top 10 Croatian supermarket chains saw 4% revenue growth to over HRK 36.74bn (€4.91bn) last year, a study has found. According to data from the Financial Agency (FINA) analysed by T-Portal, leading Croatian retailer Konzum generated revenues of HRK 14.94bn (+11.1% y/y), accounting for one quarter of the entire sector (HRK 58bn), with a 74.8% growth in gross profit to HRK 295m. Plodine placed second with revenue of HRK 3.87bn (+13.6%), followed by Lidl with HRK 3.71bn (+13.1%) and Kaufland with HRK 3.22bn (+7.4%). The top 10 also includes Spar (HRK 2.53bn, +14.6%); Tommy (HRK 2.26bn, +9.3%); Metro (HRK 1.8bn, +1.6%); Billa (HRK 1.68bn, +2.8%); Studenac (HRK 1.41bn, +12.4%); and KTC (HRK 1.28bn, +10.5%). A separate study by MSA Adria/MCA Group reveals that Croatian consumers increasingly prefer local products, and that quality is more important than cost when it comes to purchasing decisions. (esmmagazine.com) India: MobiKwik registers 5000% growth on Big Basket
MobiKwik, India’s largest independent mobile payments’ network today announced that it has registered 5000% growth on Big Basket, India’s largest online supermarket Bigbasket offers over 20,000 products from over 1000 brands and is present in 25 cities across the country including Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Delhi-NCR (thehindubusinessline.com)
Spar also sees more weakness in SA’s retail market